Global Water Alliance received some terrific news from the Dhruba DasGupta who tirelessly works to support the East Kolkata Wetlands project. Dhruba reports:
The Indian Rivers Forum has decided to award our organisation, the Society for Creative Opportunities and Participatory Ecosystems (SCOPE) for their annual Bhagirath Prayaas Samman award as part of India Rivers Week 2022. The award is for unsung heroes (individuals and organisations) for their outstanding and sustained efforts towards protection and conservation of rivers. The award comes to us for community-based wetland conservation work that helps to treat sewage and keep the river clean.
South Asian Network for Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP), INTACH, WWF-India, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Toxics Link, Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS), Society for Promoting Participative Ecosystem Management (SOPPECOM), Peace Institute, People’s Science Institute (PSI), Veditum India Foundation – the constituents of the India Rivers Forum – hold annual deliberations that cover various aspects of river conservation, research, policy planning and implementation, community relationship with the river and science-based knowledge and understanding of Indian rivers.
We are the first organisation in West Bengal to get this award.
East Kolkata wetlands at work
SCOPE’s focus on blending food production and poverty abatement with environment justice and ecologically sound practices of urban waste handling makes for a great demonstration model that others who strive to save or restore wetlands can learn a lot from, specifically those in the world of urban politics. Receiving this Bhagirath Prayaas Samman award will allow SCOPE to continue to secure the future of the East Kolkata Wetlands and protect the livelihood of the fishermen and farmers of the communities that call the East Kolkata Wetlands their home.
Dr. Christiaan Morssink is the President of the Global Water Alliance and his interests are as varied and flowing as water itself, such as: the effects of the built environment on health, the elimination of health disparities, urban farming to end hunger, and the campaign to ban and clear landmines and cluster bombs in communities around the world. Being Dutch — water is his first love.